Fire crews responded to an alley on Gilbert Ave. in Oak Lawn as people were coming home from work on Monday evening. NBC 5’s Alicia Barrera spoke to neighbors who say they’re concerned and shocked.
Residents in the Oak Lawn and Turtle Creek neighborhoods say they were scared when a fire was apparently set in an alley Monday afternoon, inches away from a natural gas line.
Firefighters were called to the alley near the 3700 block of Gilbert Avenue near Reagan Street at about 6 p.m.
Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are
WATCH HEREIn an email to NBC 5, a spokesperson for the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department said their arson division is leading an investigation, but they cannot share any details about the case.
The fire destroyed a wooden fence, some public utility equipment, and power meters in small townhome communities.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning with NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP Stephen Owens lives a few homes down from the fire's location. His surveillance cameras recorded the moments when a man and a woman carrying boxes walked through the alley. The timestamp showed 5:27 p.m. on Monday.
At 5:28 p.m., the pair entered private property through an open wooden gate. The video showed the woman placing something on the ground.
At 5:29 p.m., both the woman and man walked back out into the alley empty-handed.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“They leave without those items and throw something in the trash can,” Owens said.
At 5:30 p.m., flames can be seen in the video.
Vince Manna lives in the townhome community. He said he was pulling into his garage when he saw the fence on fire.
“When I got here, it was really starting here in the corner and spreading very quickly. So, I called the fire department, got them involved as quickly as possible,” Manna said.
Within minutes, DFR showed up and extinguished the flames before any homes were damaged. However, witnesses said it was a close call.
“So, it was extremely close, and it did damage the gas line. It could have been much, much worse, much more dangerous,” Manna said. “It damaged all the utilities that my neighbor has. He still is without water, or power, or gas at this point in time. He was given an evacuation notice from his home.”
While thankful that no one was injured, neighbors said they are still concerned about their safety.
“A fence is a fence, but a gas line is very different,” Manna said. "It goes from a silly fire to a fence to a potential safety issue for the neighborhood, and that's just disappointing when you feel like you live in a pretty safe place.”
